Valve’s portable PC hybrid the Steam Deck (opens in new tab) is a very well-received piece of kit. The ability to play PC games on the go has made it a popular device among those lucky enough to have secured one. There have been a few complaints though, such as a loud fan (opens in new tab) and a slightly limited library of games.
Steam Decks themselves aren’t really any easier to get, but Valve has certainly been working on the other issues. The fans are being constantly updated (opens in new tab) and improved on (opens in new tab), and so is that library of games. Gaming on Linux (opens in new tab) recently noted that there are now over 3,000 playable titles available for the Steam Deck.
The numbers break down into 1565 verified and 1535 playable games according to SteamDB (opens in new tab) at time of writing. Verified games have been checked by Valve and are confirmed to be working basically perfectly with the Steam Deck system. Playable games can vary in quality when running on the Steam Deck, but many are as good or close enough to those in the verified category.
While the games included in the verified and playable rankings for the Steam Deck are a bit random, it’s still good to see that number go up every time I look. Some of the newest titles to be added to the list include the rhythm violence game Thumper (opens in new tab), and the monster collector and battler Temtem, which is set to come out of early access in September this year.
Recently the ever popular MMO Final Fantasy 14 was brought to the Steam Deck (opens in new tab)‘s catalogue, which only adds to the number of top games on the platform (opens in new tab). It feels like 2022 really is set to be the year of the Steam Deck (opens in new tab), and if you can’t get your hands on one at least you can watch someone else take one apart (opens in new tab).
If putting things together is more your speed, iFixit is set to be selling most of the parts (opens in new tab) you’d need to build your own Steam Deck. It’s a fair cost to pay, but might be one of the easier ways to get your hands on one. That’s at least until Valve inevitably releases the planned Steam Deck 2 (opens in new tab). Hopefully there’ll be stock of that one.